


Worth it

by missmagoo



Series: schmoopy kidfic nonsense 'verse [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Past Stiles Stilinski/Heather - Freeform, Past Stiles Stilinski/Malia Tate, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-08
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2583779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmagoo/pseuds/missmagoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles' oldest son is starting kindergarten. And Stiles might have screwed the pooch on that whole "don't fall in love with your child's teacher" thing....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth it

**Author's Note:**

> [ohfuckthisshit:](http://onceuponasupernaturalteenwolf.tumblr.com/post/102030238278/ohfuckthisshit-all-i-see-is-stiles-with-his-two)  
>  All I see is Stiles with his two little boys, he just picked up from kindergarten, thinking about how the hell he’ll get that new kindergarten teacher to agree to a date cause he’s not only brilliant at getting his boys to take their nap, no he’s also smoking hot like how is that even fair?  
> ***  
> So I started replying to the above post with: Ok, yes to all of this, except that the boys in the picture aren't the same age. The boy on the left is clearly younger, I'd say not more than two (two and a half max). The kid on the left is older by probably a year or two, old enough to be starting school (probably pre-K, but maybe kindergarten if he's small for his age or young for his grade).  
> And I only point this out because Stiles with twin boys falling in love with kindergarten teacher Derek is adorable, yes, HOWEVER: Have you considered the adorable mess that is younger siblings confronted with their older sibling leaving them behind for kindergarten?
> 
> .... and then fic happened.

 Stiles is a mess.

It’s SJ’s first day of kindergarten, and for some reason nothing seems to be going right. Today was supposed to go smoothly, ok? Stiles had been _prepared_. He packed SJ’s lunch the night before, making sure it had all his favorite foods. He had a backpack with brand new pencils, crayons, and a notebook by the door, along with the change of clothes the school requested he bring to be kept in SJ’s cubby in case of emergencies. He was _ready_ for this, really.

And then SJ had wet the bed last night, which he hasn’t done in months, and Stiles knows it’s probably just that his five year old son is as nervous as he is about the start of school, but it threw off SJ’s sleeping schedule and made him cranky this morning, and _that_ had upset his little brother Brucie, which had caused the two year old to throw a tantrum over being put in the car seat, and now they’re running late for the very first day.

They pull into the school parking lot, and SJ looks so nervous Stiles is afraid his kid’s gonna vomit and put that spare set of clothing to use way sooner than anticipated, and Brucie won’t stop crying, and all Stiles wants to do is find SJ’s classroom and make sure the poor kid feels comfortable before he has to leave.

Because Stiles KNOWS his son can get anxious around strangers, and now he’s at a new school, with Big Kids sharing the hallways, and staying at school all the way until two o’clock, which is a big change from the nursery school he was at last year that ended at 11 am, and it's a big day all around, but poor Stiles can barely focus on SJ because Brucie is heaving loud hiccoughing sobs in his ear, crying "I *hic* wanna *hic* go ta kin'er*hic*garnen TOOOOOOO!"

And then suddenly an angel appears, all scruffy beard and impossibly soft looking sweater and gentle voice, and Stiles isn't quite sure what happened, but suddenly his younger son isn't crying anymore, and his older son is smiling, all this morning's signs of anxiousness gone, and Stiles looks up at this miracle-working stranger, whose smile is just breathtaking, and says, "Thanks. I'm Stiles. Stilinski."

"Stilinski?" The stranger says, and turns to Stiles' older son, "That must make you Scott?"

"I'm SJ" Stiles' son says, beaming "The J is for Junior. Or sometimes Jonathan, like grandpa. But the S is for Scott like my uncle!"

"It's nice to meet you, SJ" The stranger says, "I'm Mr. Hale, I'll be your kindergarten teacher this year."

And Stiles, goddammit, Stiles is so screwed.

* * *

 

Meeting Mr Hale does not make Brucie any more willing to leave, but Stiles manages to get him back to the car with minimal snuffling by promising that Mr Hale will still be there when they pick SJ up at 2. 

When it's time to pick SJ up, Stiles and Brucie are among the first to arrive, and the absolute last ones to leave.

SJ, in a rare moment of sibling camaraderie - oh who is Stiles kidding? the kid wants to show off - decides to give Brucie a tour of the kindergarten classroom, leaving Stiles alone with Mr Hale ("Oh god, it's weird enough when the kids call me that. Please call me Derek.") who happily tells him all about how SJ is settling into the classroom well, and making friends, and drew a picture of his family this afternoon, does Stiles want to see it? (Spoiler alert: Of course he does)

And that's how Stiles resigns himself to spending an entire year trying not to fall for his son's teacher, because that would be messy, and complicated, and not fair to the boys OR to Derek, and ok, so maybe signing up to be a classroom parent and spending extra time at school planning birthdays and field trips and educational holiday activities with Derek wasn't the BEST idea to keep Stiles from developing his minor crush into full blown feelings but HE'S TRYING TO BE AN INVOLVED PARENT HERE, OK?

Anyway, Stiles tells himself that it's working (it's not) until he runs into Derek at the grocery store on Thanksgiving morning (because Erica had brought a delicious cranberry-orange relish instead of jellied cranberry sauce from a can, and according to SJ it's not an authentic Thanksgiving unless you can see the ridges from the can on the cranberry sauce the damn brat won't even be eating) and while he's reaching for the last can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, he sees Derek wandering down the aisle with a lone Hungry Man frozen turkey dinner in his basket.

And so of course Stiles says, "I hope that's not your Thanksgiving dinner plan!" and of course Derek looks embarrassed as he admits that it is, and at that point, what can Stiles do except invite him to dinner that night, assuring Derek that it's no trouble, it's a big friends and family get together, so Derek won't be intruding at all. And of course he makes Derek follow him home (because Thanksgiving at the Sheriff's house is an all-day affair) and announces at the door, "look who I found all alone at the grocery store!" And SJ and Brucie are practically rapturous with joy.

The Sheriff gives Stiles a knowing look, so of course Stiles defends himself, because what was he SUPPOSED to do? Just let Derek spend Thanksgiving alone with his frozen turkey dinner - that's just FILLED with sodium and artificial preservatives that are sure to send Derek to an early grave BY THE WAY - instead of coming back to a real Thanksgiving dinner with the Stilinskis and the McCalls and the Boyd-Reyes clan and whatever other Thanksgiving orphans happen to get dragged along this year. And the Sheriff hums in agreement, and says all-too-casually that if Stiles is that concerned about the state of Derek's diet, what with those frozen meals and all, maybe he should make sure Derek gets a proper family meal a little more often.

And dammit, Stiles wants that. He wants Derek in his house, helping to fix dinner, being an ally in Stiles' fight against the tyranny of Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets (which, yes, he admittedly thought were awesome the first time he bought them. But it's amazing how fast things get old when they're demanded by two shrieking boys at dinner every night making Stiles feel like shit about the healthy AND yummy recipe he's trying out for the first time in the hopes that he'll find something both his sons like to eat that isn't over-processed crap). He wants Derek watching TV with him and tucking the boys in with him, and kissing him on the couch after the boys have gone to sleep.

But even if it weren't for the fact that Derek is SJ's teacher, making dating complicated at best, there's still the fact that Derek is a single guy, still young enough that there's no reason for him to rush into having a family. And with Stiles, well. Stiles is kind of a package deal these days. It's not fair to ask Derek to just step into that, no matter how badly Stiles wants to.

Stiles winds up  walking Derek to his car as everyone starts heading home for the night - the boys are already asleep in Stiles' childhood bedroom, and Stiles will crash in the guest room very shortly.

"Thank you." Derek says, soft and sincere. "Tonight was.... definitely better than what I had planned."

"I'm glad." Stiles says. And they stand there for several stretched out moments, and despite all his reservations, Stiles thinks _maybe_...

But then Derek shivers slightly at the chill in the air, and unlocks his car, and says, "I'll see you when you drop SJ off on Monday. Thanks again!" And Stiles is left waving as Derek drives off.

* * *

 

It happens two weeks later, Stiles volunteering to come in on a Saturday to help Derek prepare for the "Winter Holiday Concert" the kids are putting on the day before Christmas break. SJ and Brucie are having a bonding with Grandpa day, and the other class parents were all completely unable to spare time on a Saturday this close to the holidays, so it's just Stiles and Derek alone in the kindergarten classroom, cutting out snowflakes and listening to Frank Sinatra sing old Christmas standards.

Stiles is telling Derek about the things he thinks the boys might be getting up to with their grandfather, when Derek asks, "Is their mother still in the picture?"

Stiles pauses for a moment, shifting gears for a heavier conversation than ways the Sheriff might screw up making Christmas cookies despite the pre-made slice-and-bake sugar cookie dough Stiles had armed him with, before correcting, "Mothers. The boys have different mothers."

"Oh." Says Derek, "I just assumed - they look so much alike."

"Yeah, they both take after me, poor suckers." Stiles says wryly.

"Nah." Derek says. "Lucky boys."

Stiles blushes, focusing on applying glitter to the paper snowflakes as neatly as possible to avoid looking at Derek, before saying, "It's kind of a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?"

"If you want to tell it." Derek says seriously.

"SJ's mom, Malia, is my ex-wife. We met in college, fell in love fast. After two years together we just figured, you know, why wait? We'd both heard so many stories of people meeting in college and getting married right after graduation and we, you know. Thought we were ready. Thought we were grownups. Decided there was no point in waiting the extra year just to graduate.

"So we got married, summer before our Senior year. Lived together in a little off-campus apartment, and it was like playing house. She got pregnant in December. It was - we weren't exactly trying to get pregnant, but we both were so involved in our little domestic fantasy that having a kid didn't seem like the worst outcome of sex anymore, we both got a little lax in using birth control and when the test came back positive we told ourselves that, you know, no one's ever _ready_ for parenthood when it happens, and this is something we wanted eventually.

"So, you know, we prepared ourselves as best we could, finished college, looked for jobs. And then six weeks before SJ was born, Malia kind of had a breakdown. It was like she realized all at once that none of it was what she wanted - not marriage, not a kid, not me. We actually had to check her into a facility for a while so she didn't hurt herself or SJ, she was panicking so bad. She wasn’t in there long, about a week and a half. She met with a therapist several times a day, and at the end of it, she told me she was sorry but she couldn't do it. She'd have the baby, but she didn't want to keep it. She wanted a divorce, she wanted to relinquish custody of our son, she didn't want to see either of us for at least a year while she figured herself out.

"I thought, you know, that she'd change her mind once SJ was born. That she'd hold him for the first time and fall in love and want to stay. But, um. She didn't. She left. And I was a twenty-two year old single father.”

“Oh god, Stiles.” Derek says, “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not.” Stiles says, “Not anymore. She made her choice, you know? And it’s better she did it right at the beginning than after SJ had gotten attached, you know?”

Derek nods, understanding, but doesn’t say anything. So Stiles continues.

“So anyway, I moved in with my dad, and he helped me as best he could since I was juggling a new baby and a full time job and actual adulthood for the first time in my life. And I was, yeah, I was pretty overwhelmed, so my dad was basically a life saver. And after a while I ended up reconnecting with a childhood friend, Heather, who just - she made me feel like a person again, is the best way I can describe it. After SJ was born, I felt like my entire life was fatherhood, even work felt like something I squeezed in between diaper changes. So Heather comes along, and she convinces me to let my dad babysit while she takes me out, and she takes me shopping so I at least have SOME shirts that don't have stains from baby spit-up on them, and she drags me to clubs and tries to help me hook up, tells me I need to get back out there, get a rebound. She’s, you know, convinced that having a kid whose mom walked out on me shouldn’t mean I’m celibate forever.

“And this one night, we’re both drunk, and she’s, like, yelling at me for not going home with this guy, calling me a killjoy for wanting to get home to my son, and I don’t really remember the rest of that night, but I woke up in her bed the next morning and nine months later, Brucie was born.”

“So what,” Derek asks, “She just left a baby on your doorstep?”

“No.” Stiles says, “No, she - when she found out she was pregnant, she and I decided we’d try to make a go of it. Our parents were thrilled, our moms were best friends until mine died, so my dad and Heather’s parents all tried to play it up like some fated romance. They all thought we were actually dating all those months Heather was dragging me out to socialize and hook up with other people.

“It was a mess, though. Heather and I didn’t love each other. The only reason Heather didn’t have an abortion without telling anyone was because her mom found the pregnancy test and just about threw a parade when she found out I was the father. I actually ended it, because of SJ. She didn’t get along with him, was constantly freaked out by the idea of mothering him. I once left them alone for the afternoon, and came back to Heather scolding him for calling her Mama.”

Derek looks appalled, so Stiles quickly amends, “She wasn’t, like, hurting him or anything. She was just very adamant about not being his mother. And I knew then that Heather didn’t get that SJ and I were a package deal. She could resign herself to being with me, to raising the baby that she and I made together, but being the mother of another woman’s child was just one step too far, I guess.

“I couldn’t let my son grow up with someone who was just gonna reject him like that from the get-go. So we broke up. I got full custody of Brucie when he was born, and Heather and I agreed to stay friends with the full understanding that she was not allowed to drag me out to bars anymore, and when Bruce was five months old, Heather calls me up to tell me about how she met someone in a coffee shop and she was in love, and later that day Malia blows into town to see SJ for the first time since he was born, and tells me all about this gorgeous blonde she met that morning, and I kid you not, the two of them are now happily engaged and travelling Europe together.”

Stiles spreads his hands as if to say _ta-da_ , and waits for Derek to reply. He waits in silence for a few minutes while Derek appears to be rebooting his brain. Derek opens his mouth and closes it a few times, brow furrowed, before finally asking, “Are you pulling my leg right now?”

And that’s, yeah. That’s kind of the reaction Stiles usually gets. Which is why he doesn’t really tell that many people.

“It’d be funnier if I was, right?” Stiles says, “If you need proof, I can show you the postcards. Since getting together, they’ve both kind of gotten into the idea of being absentee moms. They send presents at Christmas and on birthdays, and money when they can to help out, and postcards from each new city signed _love from the mommies_! They like and comment on pictures I post to Facebook. Heather told me last time I talked to her that she and Malia want to take the boys to Europe some day. But, you know, when they’re older and not so much work.”

Stiles laughs. “You know, saying it out loud - it’s actually pretty funny even if it is true.”

“They’re idiots.” Derek blurts. Then blushes and looks away.

“I - what?” Stiles says, slightly thrown off. Normally he gets sympathy, often mixed with a wariness at what could possibly be so wrong with him that he drove not one but two mothers away from their babies.

“It’s just - I can’t imagine that someone would have the chance to be with you and the boys, to call you their own, and that they would just throw it away.”

“I mean, parenthood isn’t for everyone.” Stiles says. “It’s a lot of hard work, and-”

“It’s worth it.” Derek interrupts. “The boys are, you are. You’re worth it, Stiles.”

“Wha- What are you saying, Derek?” Stiles asks, feeling slightly breathless as Derek’s eyes meet his, wide and earnest.

“I wouldn’t throw it all away like they did.” Derek says, “If i - If somehow you ever decided to give me a shot, Stiles, I’d do everything in my power to keep you and the boys for as long as you’d have me.”

Stiles freezes, unsure as to whether he needs to have his hearing checked, his heart swelling traitorously, because surely he must have misheard, or misunderstood, or something, because the idea that Derek returns his feelings is overwhelming him right now.

He must take too long to respond, because Derek’s face is falling, and he’s apologizing, “Oh god, Stiles. I’m so sorry. I’ve made you uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have said anything - “

“Don’t you dare take it back.” Stiles says, as he reaches out to pull Derek in for a kiss. Derek’s stiff at first, but quickly relaxes and kisses back.

The kiss breaks slowly, sweetly.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the first time I saw you.” Stiles says, breathless.

“Me too.” Says Derek. “We should do it again.”

And so they do.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Stiles named his sons Scott Jonathan Stilinski and Bruce Wayne Stilinski. He used up all the important family names on SJ, so poor Brucie got stuck with Stiles' fanboy naming skills. When Brucie grows up, he will end up over-identifying with Albus Severus Potter.


End file.
